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Fiat Chrysler’s Sergio Marchionne throws more cold water on Tesla, EVs

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has once again sounded off on industry upstart Tesla and its wunderkind boss, Elon Musk. In the process, he doubled down on FCA's reluctance to follow its competitors headlong into electrifying its vehicle fleet, saying "we're not betting the bank on going fully electric in the next decade. It won't happen." Marchionne made his comments on Monday during remarks at the New York Stock Exchange, where he was marking the 70th anniversary of Ferrari. They come as Tesla struggles to ramp up production of its Model 3 sedan, its first mass-market offering, and the company continues to hemorrhage money. Here's what he said: "We still don't have a viable model for delivering an electric car. As much as I like Elon Musk, and he's a good friend, and actually he's done a phenomenal job of marketing Telsa, I remain unconvinced of a new economic viability of the model that he's pitching. So I think we need to be careful, because when we embrace electrification, and I made comments on the fact that we lose money on every Fiat 500, the electric that we sell in the U.S. Now that's reflective of the 2011-2010 costs in terms of components. Those costs have come down. If I were to do it again, I would certainly reduce the amount of the loss, but I would not make any money. And you can't run economic entities on losses. It doesn't happen. "So how do we find a convergence of technology bringing prices of components down and allows us to price accordingly — or we need to navigate through this process in a combined way between combustion and electrification to yield at least a minimum of economic returns that allows for our continuity? The last thing you want is me to be successful selling cars for 24 months and then go bust. That's not a good story. Especially in a place like this which rewards economic success. Let's not sit here and design our own future in the tank. Let's try and do it properly. We will do all the right things. We are investing without making a lot of noise on electrification. We will combine it with combustion to yield the right level of CO2. But we're not betting the bank on going fully electric in the next decade. It won't happen." It's not the first time Marchionne has publicly expressed doubts about Tesla's business plan.

2023 Fiat 500e Abarth revealed, quicker than the gas model

The much-loved Fiat 500 Abarth finally has a successor, and now it's electric. The 500e Abarth takes the regular model and adds a much more powerful electric motor, plus sportier styling. And while outright power is less than the top gas model, Fiat says that the new Abarth is faster on track. On the outside, the Abarth features the brand's name plastered across the nose in place of the regular "500" logo and chrome bar. The scorpion badge now sits on top of the hood. The front bumper is unique with more aggressive air vents and a deeper air dam. The side skirts are new, too, and the rear bumper diffuser gets white inserts to match the front air dam. The Abarth scorpion badges on the sides have been tweaked to fit the electric theme, and the car gets new 18-inch wheels and some of the coolest side stripes we've seen in some time. Inside, the Abarth in the launch Scorpionissima trim gets a three-spoke steering wheel, Alcantara upholstery and stainless steel pedals and door sills. The major performance upgrade for the 500e Abarth is the motor. It makes 153 horsepower and 173 pound-feet, compared to the next most-powerful 500e at 118 horsepower. It will get the little hatchback from 0 to 62 mph in 7 seconds. Fiat didn't say much about suspension and brake upgrades, but we assume they've been improved to match the sporty pretensions of the Abarth. Especially as Fiat says the electric Abarth will lap the company's Balocco test track more than a second faster than the current gas-powered 500 Abarth 695, which packs 180 horsepower. Certainly the lower center of gravity, wider track and longer wheelbase play some role, but there are likely other upgrades at work. The Abarth won't be going farther than the regular 500e, though. It uses the same 42-kWh battery, which returns 199 miles of range on the WLTP cycle in the 500e. In the Abarth, with its more powerful motor, range is likely to decrease somewhat. Owners worried about the lack of sound from an electric car won't have to worry about that with the Abarth. Available is an external sound generator. It can produce an emulated exhaust note based on the gas-powered Abarth models audible to the driver and to passersby. Fortunately, it can be switched off, too, if you don't like the idea of fake exhaust sounds. We sort of wish they opted for a more creative and less "realistic" sound like Dodge did with the Charger Daytona concept and its Fratzonic exhaust sound generator.

Fiat 500L ad gets saucy with Paul Revere

At new vehicle first drives, there's a pretty set series of events before an automaker throws you the keys to their new baby. Predictably, there's a design presentation, a mechanical deep dive, and increasingly, an infotainment system walkthrough. Less known but just as common, however, are the marketing presentations, wherein execs talk about target customers and periodically show print and video 'creative' for their campaigns. Usually, we assembled media dutifully watch, nod and smile when shown commercials, but that's about it. Laugher - let alone universal gales of the stuff - is rare. But that's exactly what Fiat got when it showed us this not-yet-approved ad for its new 500L.
This minute-long Italian Invasion spot has gone on to hit television screens already, largely in a less-effective 30-second form, but we like this full-length director's cut best. It riffs off the historical vibe of some of Chrysler's best efforts over the last few years (the Dodge Challenger Freedom spot comes to mind) with a humorous and sexy play on the Paul Revere "The British Are Coming!" folk tale. If you haven't seen it already (it's just now going viral), scroll down to check it out. And if you already have, well, it's still worth a second look.